NEW USE NEW MOVE NEW MOVE NEW USE Land use & Mobility PRECONISATIONS FORUM 2017 Ed. responsable : Paul Vermeylen, Architects House rue Ernest Allard 21 à 1000 Bruxelles - Contact : fup@urbanistes.be
10 recommendations arising out of the themes, presentations and debates of the Land Use & Mobility Forum Supplement to the Proceedings of the Forum held at BOZAR on 11 May 2017, compiled by Paul Vermeylen and approved by the Board of Directors of FUP. Author: Pierre Laconte, with the collaboration of Paul Vermeylen, Dirk Van de Putte, Bruno Clerbaux and Clotilde Fally. These recommendations relate to trends that have only emerged in the last few years. In view of the rapidity of their development, however, their implementation is envisaged by 2030. It will involve a number of transitional stages, based on a multidisciplinary vision and taking account of environmental impact and the ethical values of the professions represented.
PREAMBULE The rapid evolution of the city and the patterns of behaviour of city-dwellers, accentuated and accelerated by the emergence of digital technology, robotisation and artificial intelligence, is not confined to changes in habits. Our new ways of working, living and obtaining goods, and our new ways of communicating and moving around, raise questions about complete cultural systems (political, economic, ecological, urban, etc.). Taking these new ways into account will not only determine choices regarding mobility and spatial planning. Changing patterns of behaviour will also force urban societies to choose among and between a multiplicity of technical, legal, organisational and political priorities and, in some cases, to make the necessary trade-offs. It is therefore imperative to ensure democratic land use governance; specifically, this means defined responsibilities and participatory leadership. The implementation of this responsible and participatory governance has become unavoidable, given that an urban region is a complex system in which no actor alone can comprehend every development. Strategies and practices relating to the functioning of such regions are, therefore, themselves fundamental elements in the development of urban complexity. It follows that interventions in regional land use (planning, projects, management) must be conceived in a context of interaction rather than as external actions; hence the importance of participation and co-creation, with the help of information technology. 3
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1. The need for shared management of land use and mobility with a view to smart development Recommendation 1 From now on, smart city policies aiming to reduce travel needs need to be guided by a linked approach to urban planning and mobility, following the example of the integrated policies of the City of Amsterdam, where the sustained development of Smart Work Centers and applications for the management of mobility data and organisation has led to a 20% reduction in traffic congestion. Massively reducing the motivation for travelling involves forming a network of polycentric territories of densely populated places where new ways of working (teleworking, co-working spaces, fab labs, incubators, etc.) and living (communal joint tenancies, local residents offering student accommodation) are practised. These new practices combine and hybridise the old functions : housing, office or workshop space, retail, leisure. To this end, For Urban Passion calls for close coordination between the policies concerned, which are currently too detached from one another. The actors concerned need to engage in dialogue, coordinate their actions, but also think about the regulations needed to prevent abuses such as UberPop. 5
Recommendation 2 The high costs of urban sprawl for the community should be borne by its beneficiaries. Thus, the cost of travelling the distance between home and the workplace should not be subsidised: it should be borne by whoever is responsible for it. The future road toll should be charged per kilometre and not as a flat rate (the vignette system). Insurance should be priced according to the number of kilometres driven per year. Public transport should also be priced by distance. The same goes for connections to water and other networks. This is because the preference for space leads to urban sprawl when its cost is not borne by the user. Once the cost of urban sprawl (congestion, the cost of transport, the cost of roads and various networks) is borne by the inhabitants of the urban periphery, its rate of spread slows down (as is the case with Zurich). 6
Recommendation 3 Tomorrow s living patterns will require the places where people live to be adapted to the flexibility made possible by digital technology. The system of rented student rooms in university towns also encourages intergenerational relations. Conversely, the shared tenancy of whole buildings for the same function does not meet this objective. The additional costs of housing due to inflexible regulations such as the requirement for a minimum parking space per dwelling or a certain number of rooms and a certain habitable floor space increase the cost, but not the quality or added value, of these dwellings. It is desirable to adapt the regulations and housing codes to new practices, in particular as regards co-living, co-working, the reception of the elderly within families, etc. Similarly, flexibility of spaces and functions should be encouraged. Today s residents are inclined to share multi-purpose communal spaces within buildings and neighbourhoods, and to have a smaller private garden space in favour of higher-quality surrounding public spaces (parks, communal gardens, streets, etc.). This economic/ecological management of housing and land use must also take account in new plans for districts and housing of increasingly popular positive behaviours such as the use of shared cars or bicycles. Source: Coworking spaces in Berlin. 7
2. New information technologies serving citizens Recommendation 4 Rapid advances in the new information and communication technologies and the databases that use them enable those with access to them to rationalise services to citizens (security, healthcare, public services), but also to set the framework for consumer demand. Undesirable side-effects include a drastic reduction in the protection of privacy ( the end of secrets ). New information and communication technologies should first and foremost serve the public, in particular through: - public support for citizens initiatives (cooperatives) and for high-tech commercial companies; - a legal framework to prevent monopolies, the centralisation of digital power and the addition of a digital divide to existing social divisions; - the increased capacity and security of networks and media (via optical fibre in particular). 8
Recommendation 5 Through its innovative organisation, the smart city constitutes a genuine lever for the implementation of a policy of smart land use management which, more than in the past, can provide the right information at the right time with a view to formally identifying and harnessing land capital. However, the new information and communication technologies facilitate and accelerate land use information and communication processes in general, as they point to the possibilities for intensifying and systematising the reception, processing and balanced analysis of various incoming reports and information. Support and financing should therefore be provided for the organisation of an integrated land use information system which, beyond the simple collection and processing of reports and information, can generate a shared intelligence network for all information and knowledge relevant to the development, competitiveness and attractiveness of the urban region, both collectively and for each of its actors. Such an information system should offer: a learning environment conducive to endogenous regional development; possibilities for pooling and disseminating various forms of cross-disciplinary knowledge; innovative content encouraging collaboration and support for new conceptions, methods and ways of implementing projects. Such a system should facilitate: The anticipation of divisions, the consequences of which are primarily the responsibility of specialists (the emergency services, police, army, transport, NGOs), but also of urban planners; the collection and appraisal of reports addressed to decision-makers; the conservation and development of existing resources. The land use information system must employ a participatory approach based on bottom-up governance, and should therefore be jointly financed and constructed by public services, businesses and NGOs. 9
Recommendation 6 Public or shared transport should be allowed to play a central role in providing effective and environmentally friendly transhipment systems. This requires effective and organised collaboration regarding the role of the different modes of transport and how they are shared. Collaboration may be difficult for public services, which often serve political ends that do not necessarily coincide with service to the public. Railway and public transport sites may, however, if they are given the opportunity, adapt to the demands of passengers using other modes of transport and offer services other than just transport (e.g. crèches). Significant potential for land use and mobility could result from investment in medium-sized stations, as in Germany. In Potsdam, for example, the railway station has become the main leisure and shopping centre of this little town, including at the weekend. Source : Uber. L information porte sur tous mes modes de transport. 10
Source: Siemens Double Decker Desiro Recommendation 7 The development of automatic vehicles operating on a driverless basis in urban traffic is inevitable and supported by the automotive sector. However, traffic congestion is likely to be increased by automatic vehicles being deployed without the limitation of personnel costs. Priority should be given to using automatic vehicles to serve railway and metro stations. Several services of this type are already in circulation (Lyon and Montreal in particular) or in the trial phase (Paris). Recommendation 8 Multimodal hubs will become places of urban development: shops, dense housing, services, community facilities, thanks in particular to the transformation of public spaces previously occupied by the car and of private spaces used for cars (underground car parks). The public spaces must be liberated first. There will still be cars in the city (taxis, rental cars, shared cars, automatic vehicles etc.). The design and use of public spaces must be rethought to take account of multiple modes of transport (the e-bike in particular) and patterns of use (urban festive events). 11
3. Personal mobility and goods mobility (e-commerce) Recommendation 9 E-commerce tends to reduce car traffic to conventional shopping centres, but increases the number of home delivery vehicles on the road. The cost of this service is not borne by the buyer, who is therefore encouraged to have different models of a product delivered, choose one and return the rest to the sender; this trend is increasingly in evidence (Zalando clothing sales platform has a return rate of more than 50%). Greater transparency about the actual cost of distribution should be required (product return charges), as well as a clear indication of provenance, so as to encourage consumer choice in favour of locally produced goods. 12 Source: Keolis Véhicules automatiques assurant la connexion avec le métro de Lyon depuis 2017
4. Mobility infrastructure and impact on the landscape Recommendation 10 Expanding mobility should not be detrimental to landscape quality. This applies as much to canals and high-voltage electricity transmission as it does to road-building This challenge must be taken into account by the planning authorities. Soil sealing due to buildings and infrastructure has a significant impact on the landscape and the hydrographic system (the reduction of water infiltration, increased risk of flooding and the depletion of groundwater). Railways have a comparative advantage over road networks in that their networks and stations impose a structure on the land and have a concentrated impact on landscapes. 13
Source : JNC -Plan d aménagement paysager du site «Confluence» au Grognon (Namur).
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FOR URBAN PASSION asbl Rue Ernest Allard 21 1000 Bruxelles Website: htpp://urbanistes.be/fup/ Mail : fup@urbanistes.be Publisher : : Paul Vermeylen, Architects House rue Ernest Allard 21 à 1000 Bruxelles - Contact : fup@urbanistes.be